Fourteen
by PaperLed
Summary: The last meeting between Naruto and Itachi re-imagined. Naruto is wrecked. Sasuke has wrecked him. Naru/Ita.


He stands in the clearing. He thinks it's a pity this all is happening today. The sky is clear blue and he sees ravens circling above him. He always imagined the search for Sasuke for rainy days, possibly thunderstorms. But, no. The sky is cloudless and clear and he thinks this is wasted beauty.

There is a rustle from behind him. Sharp, he is all reflex turning around with a kunai already half way across the space between him and the intruder. The stranger moves easily, his eyes flash the red and black pattern of Sharingan and Naruto knows.

"Itachi Uchiha."

Itachi is not phased. There is a suspended moment. The Sharingan watches.

"Nine Tails. Tell me, why do you chase after Sasuke."

The question is spoken like a statement. Blank, expressionless. Emotion rushes in Naruto as it always does, all the time, unchecked.

"You'll never understand this, but Sasuske is more of a brother to me than you ever were to him."

Brother. Funny word in this context, Naruto thinks. Sasuke and him. Sasuke. Him.

Itachi's face, impassive. Blank, expressionless. Naruto is drawn to the long scar lines on his face. They stand out in harsh contrast to his pale skin. Pale, like Sasuke. The same lines, visible to anyone looking. Unlike Sasuke.

"Nine Tails. Tell me, what will you do if Sasuke never wants to return."

Naruto spends days in bed looking up at his ceiling thinking about that question. But of course, Itachi doesn't speak in questions. Only blank, emotionless statements.

"I'll break every bone in his body and drag him back."

"And Konoha will of course welcome back a rogue ninja and self-proclaimed avenger."

Naruto knows skepticism when he hears it. But he thinks of Jaraiya, thinks of Yukimaru.

"Where ever someone is thinking about you, that place is home."

Itachi's face never changes, doesn't twitch or tremor. He looks at him with Sharingan. Watching always. Says nothing for a while. When he speaks again Naruto's eyes are drawn to the pulls and strains of the lines around his mouth. So much like Sasuke's mouth. Like the first time they kissed. And then much later again.

"I want to be honest with you, Naruto Uzumaki. I want to tell you what Sasuke doesn't know, what even this Hokage doesn't know. I want to tell you why it was important that they did not know."

"I don't trust you."

Naruto has the overwhelming urge to follow the declaration with a venomous hissing out of his family name. Uchiha. He thinks of Sasuke. Their back and forth. All of the years. The venomous hissing out of their family names. And he doesn't.

"It would be stupid of you to do so. I don't want your trust. I want your ears."

Tree roots coil like ropes around Naruto, sailor knots around his body. His instinct to struggle meets unwavering resistance. Frustrated. Angry. Emotion rushes in him like it always does.

"Get these fucking ropes - "

His voice fails mid shout. He is a gaping fish out of water. Struggling, voiceless.

"You will next speak when I tell you to speak."

He is infuriating, Naruto thinks. Itachi hasn't moved. Not once. The Akatsuki cloak Itachi wears has been moving in conversation with the warm breeze; his mouth has been moving in conversation with Naruto. Nothing else shifts under the pointed scrutiny of his Sharingan. Naruto thinks again that it is a shame, such a wasted shame of a beautiful day. Emotion rushes in him.

"I killed the Uchiha clan under the orders of the Third Lord Hokage and the Inner Council."

A sound. Like the flat lining of a heart monitor. It comes from very far away and Naruto hears it get louder. The rushing in him stills. It is momentary and rushes back like the beating heart of a man pulled back from the door to the Underworld.

Itachi's story unravels like the scrolls of a forbidden jutsu. Slowly at first. Hesitantly, cautiously. And then with the overwhelming pace of new discoveries.

Itachi is a pacifist. Growing up around war made many people into pacifists. But a prodigy has no place in peace marches. Weapon made, Itachi is a spy. A counter-spy. Perhaps three times over. With the Uchihas outfitted for war and a clear path to usurping the seat of Hokage, Itachi is given orders which he carries out. He does this for peace, for the love of his village, for the needs of many. He seals his fate with the lazy throw of many edged shuriken and Madara at his side. He wields Mangekyo with the ease of a sacrificial chess piece. Rogue ninja. This is his fate.

Naruto wonders at how he is listening to Itachi when he cannot hear anything over the rushing in his ears. He does not believe him. Refuses to. He rages against the words, repelled. He thinks Itachi must have an agenda. Rogue ninja that he is. Must be manipulating Sharingan for grabs at power. He screams. It is silent and wanting and he is left unsatisfied. Fish out of water. Gulping, gaping, suffocating. He does not know oxygen out of water.

"Sasuke is going to kill me tomorrow," Itachi says. Impassive. Still. "It is written. It cannot be unwritten."

Naruto doesn't know where this is going. Wants to ask. Wants to ask the liar what he means to achieve.

Itachi tilts his head by the smallest degree. Naruto feels triumphant as if his will alone made Itachi break his stillness. Itachi is sizing him up it seems, maybe gaging how much he believes. Naruto throws his head back and opens his mouth in mimicry of mocking laughter. I believe none of it, he thinks at Itachi.

Itachi's head straightens.

Naruto's head is brought slamming back onto his chest as memories flood him. Really, flood him. Like perpetual rain. Not his memories. There are landscapes and faces and voices he doesn't recognise. But then one face, one voice. The flood eases, becomes manageable. Sasuke. Sasuke as a child on Itachi's back walking from the training grounds.

"Why is the Uchiha crest part of the police badge, Itachi?"

"Oh, so you finally noticed that did you?" Itachi asks smiling, laughter in his eyes and the curves of his face.

"Of course I did," Sasuke replies. Huffy, offended. His lip out, pouting.

Naruto watches Itachi's story, far away as binoculars. He spies in on the private lives of the Uchiha clan. There are secret meetings with the clan's council; secret meetings with Konoha's council; secret missions for ANBU. Itachi standing on top of a spire, silhouetted by the moon. Watching Sasuke. Sasuke running past the dead bodies of his clan. Sasuke screaming past the empty houses of his clan. Itachi turning away from Sasuke. Heartbreak. The last tears he will ever cry.

Naruto is still after that. He believes him. Doesn't want to. Doesn't understand why. But he sees Itachi's story and believes it as the truth.

He looks up at Itachi. Looks at him probably longer than Itachi has looked at him. Naruto nods. The roots slither away from his body slowly enough that they can bind at a moment's notice if need be. No longer held up, Naruto collapses to the ground at his feet. Even the earth is warm today. Wasted day for such beauty.

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto says.

"You know why." Itachi says.

Silence again. Stretched. The ravens are still above them. Have been this whole time. Circling. Naruto lies on his back, watches them. They soothe him. He breathes heavily. Feels defeated. In many ways this is just another battle with Sasuke. About Sasuke. Around Sasuke. Outside of Sasuke. Without Sasuke.

"You look a lot like him, you know. He has the same scars on his face, you just have to get really close to his face to see them. And even then, you have to be really looking."

Naruto talks. About Sasuke. Always at the back of his mind. He talks like snake shedding skin, like the inevitable laying to waste of so many histories. He talks like he has time. Like they are not supposed to be sniffing out Sasuke who is just over the next hill. As he always is.

"You've put me in a gen jutsu." he tells Itachi.

Itachi doesn't answer. It is not a question.

"How long does it last?"

This is a question and Itachi is still staring at him impassively from the same spot.

"As long as I want it to."

"I mean in real time."

"One second."

"So right now I'm still halfway between the step I took a half hour ago."

"Right now is still the step you took a half hour ago."

"Gen jutsu is stupid. Confusing. It's a smoke screen for cowards."

"Sasuke has gen jutsu."

"Sasuke is a coward."

Naruto says that last with no feeling. His emotions still rush inside him, but as a subdued throb now. It's the clear sky, or the conversation, or the company. He sits up and unzips his jacket, takes of his shoes.

He says to Itachi, "Tell me something I don't know about him."

"You know more about him than I do."

"Not really. I know vague things. Things relegated to the realm of sense. Not concrete things."

"What's concrete."

"I don't know. Not what his mouth taste likes - which I know. Not what his hair feels like. Not what his voice sounds like after 3AM - which I also know. I want to know him back to the time when he still spoke. When I knew him he was just grunts and sighs and no vocabulary. I want to know him. I've loved him since I was twelve years old and I've never known who he is."

Naruto pauses after this. And then.

"Itachi, what if he doesn't want me?"

Itachi doesn't answer. There are no answers for that.

"I've always thought Sasuke couldn't ever want anyone. You consume him, Itachi, there's no room for anyone else."

Naruto feels the shadows around him shift. Itachi looms over him, blocks his path to sunlight.

"You must not fail. Break all the bones in his body and drag him if you must."

Naruto wonders if Sasuke does still think of him. Wonders how he thinks of him. As a whim maybe. Maybe he always was. Even back then.

"You've made me feel at ease. What part of the gen jutsu is that?" Naruto says.

Itachi looming over Naruto. Naruto feeling calm. Feeling like he is on a therapists chair having a break through. He is thinking things he has been careful not to think.

"It's the heat." Itachi says.

Itachi's face is half shrouded in shadow. The ravens circling above him.

"You have the same mouth as him."

Naruto sits up. Stands to face Itachi. Looks at his mouth.

"Your mouth moves like his when you talk." Naruto pauses, remembers. "You know he kissed me. After that first time. On our first mission. We fought the Demon of the Mist. We stayed up all night running up trees. Training. Running up trees. Always competitive, Sasuke and me. When we reached the top, it was 11PM. We jumped down, exhausted. I couldn't think I was so tired. I don't think he could either. He walked up to me, kissed me, called me a loser and walked away. Fuck. I was probably in love with him even then, the idiot."

Itachi's face. Blank, expressionless. So beautiful a day wasted on such passivity.

"His face was like yours. Well, he tried to make it like that. Blank, expressionless. Sparked by bloodlust when he called himself an avenger. And then passive again. I would have killed you for him, you know."

Naruto is looking at the Sharingan. He is calm. Troublesome gen jutsu. He brings his hands up to Itachi's neck. Doesn't squeeze. His palms placed and wrapped around Itachi's neck.

"You feel like him maybe."

Itachi's hair is whisper soft against Naruto's fingers. Those fingers tangle deeper in that hair. Abandon the throat. Let loose Itachi's hair from its tie.

"I miss him. So much. He hurts inside me."

"Uzumaki-kun, I am not Sasuke." Itachi's voice, and poise, and posture still passive.

"I know," Naruto says.

He pulls Itachi's head closer to his. Steps closer. Feels the body heat.

"I won't feel like him, or sound like him, or taste like him."

"Nuts. And spit," Naruto whispers, "that's what he tastes like. Tasted like the last time he kissed me. He was always kissing me. And then calling me a loser and walking away. That last time he was walking away to you. And I knew then that he always had been. Walking to you. We fought on the roof of the hospital. I think we really were trying to kill each other. Chidori on Rasengan. Sakura was by the door crying, screaming, running towards us. And we couldn't have stopped wanting to kill each other. I was pissed off about all the kissing and walking away; had no idea what he was pissed about. Now i think he was jealous; felt like you chose me. He didn't get that everybody would always choose him, even if he kept on kissing them and walking away. Tasting of nuts and spit. Hadn't brushed his teeth the whole day, probably. Went up to the back hills, apparently, and sat there all night. He woke me up after 3AM and I could tell by the texture of plaque on his teeth that he hadn't brushed his teeth that night. He came into the hospital room and woke me up. I hadn't been sleeping, thinking about him. I told him: 'Just don't walk away again.' Silly me. He climbed onto my bed, injuries and all, and kissed me with his tongue. Sloppy and unlearned, like being 14. He tasted like nuts and spit and plaque. I was... excited. He was... sexy. Everybody chose him. And he chose me. Chose my bed to climb into. Chose my mouth and my tongue. Chose me to be hard for. Although now I think he was just hard for you. And you chose me, he thought. And that was his way of choosing you. Your mouth. Your tongue. Your cock, next to his cock, to touch. Your come. And your taste. You, Itachi, you. I know who you are. And I know who you are not."

Naruto monologues at Itachi. His face against his shoulder. Naruto says he knows who Itachi is and kisses him. Part of him hopes he will taste like nuts and spit and plaque. Bittersweet. But mostly bitter.

Itachi's mouth feels like a mouth. So much so that it could be Sasuke's mouth. Naruto forces his tongue inside Itachi's mouth and he is not Sasuke. Naruto knows who he is and who he is not. His teeth are smooth and he tastes like the acidic aftertaste of fruit. Maybe Itachi eats apples. Naruto opens his eyes, pulls back, holds Itachi at arm's length. Looks at him.

Says, "Itachi."

Itachi kisses him and he is not 14. And this is not Sasuke. Itachi's arms wrap around Naruto's body like sailor knots. Their bodies are flush. Itachi's tongue is everywhere. On his jaw, his neck, his earlobe. Naruto keens. Itachi's hands slither like ivy down his back, grab his ass. Grinds. Naruto's head falls back, his mouth open, neck vulnerable. The thought crosses his mind that Itachi could kill him, could long ago have killed him. Itachi's teeth sink into his collarbone and Naruto finds he doesn't mind too much if this is some elaborate kill. Itachi grinds, slowly. Painfully slowly. Naruto is panting and frantic and his brain keeps whispering Sasuke but his senses won't let him. Naruto knows who Sasuke is and who Sasuke is not. And this is not Sasuke. They are not 14. And his heart is not about to be broken. Again. And always again.

Naruto's fingers scratch and grab at Itachi's body. He rips off the Akatsuki robes. Starts unzipping Itachi's pants, changes his mind, tugs at Itachi's shirt. He is messy and he wants so very much the feel of skin on his hands and on his body. Wants the taste of sweat. The throb of exertion.

Itachi stops. Steps back. Naruto leans, tilts towards Itachi, follows without thinking. Itachi holds him at arm's length.

"Stay there," Itachi says, voice breathy, "take off your clothes."

Naruto looks up. Itachi's eyes are obsidian lust. Naruto takes off his shirt, his pants, his green frog boxers.

The sky morphs. It looks like midnight on a full moon. Itachi's lust is midnight blue.

Naruto stands. Still. Breathing. He is naked with a blue crystal around his neck. He is hard and it is obvious. Some of him wants to tell Itachi to turn around or to not look at him the way he's looking at him. But most of him is want. Messy, panting want.

Itachi takes off his clothes. Measuredly, like he is back home after a hard mission. Takes time. Shoes, shirt, pants. He is naked with a silver metal chain around his neck.

This is not Sasuke, Naruto thinks. Not 14 and prepubescent. Not vague horniness without direction. This is 20 something and a man. Aimed want. Itachi is dangerous. Even more so in moonlight.

"Floor," Itachi growls. He is animal.

Itachi spreads Naruto open for him. Pushes Naruto onto his back, eases his legs apart. They kiss and it is vicious. They rut and grind and they are animal. Itachi forces his fingers into Naruto's mouth. Naruto licks, sucks, bites, groans. Itachi slithers down Naruto's body, swallows him whole. He sucks Naruto's cock; Naruto writhes and arches and liquefies. Itachi grabs the back of Naruto's thigh, pushes it back towards his stomach, pushes a wet finger inside him. Naruto vaguely notes discomfort, and even more so with the third finger. And then he is once again a puddle of want being sucked and finger fucked.

Itachi lifts his head, pulls out his fingers. Naruto opens his eyes, sees Itachi's cock and tenses. Itachi's cock throbs against Naruto, starting to slowly push inside him.

"Wait."

Itachi waits. Tries again.

"Wait, wait, wait."

Itachi waits. Tries again.

"Wait. Fuck. Wait. No. Fuck off."

Naruto's feet brace themselves against Itachi's hips. And shove.

"That fucking hurts," Naruto shouts.

Naruto scrambles away. He sees Itachi watches him. Panting. Itachi watches the sweat pooling in Naruto's belly button slide down over the seal. Looks at his cock. Hard, flushed, leaking. Legs still open. Itachi growls, canine.

"No," Naruto says, "fuck off."

Itachi shrugs slightly. Collapses onto his back on the ground, one leg up. Naruto watches Itachi stretch for the moon, Lycan.

"You should let me fuck you instead."

Naruto watches Itachi for a reaction. Watches the face turn slowly towards him. The shoulders shrug.

"Ok."

They watch each other. Silence. Sizing each other up. Itachi puts his own fingers in his mouth. Sucks, licks, bites, spits on them. Naruto watches Itachi fuck himself and his mouth goes dry. He watches Itachi's back arch and hears a satisfied rumble from Itachi's mouth. Naruto wants him from the base of his spine. Feels his lust pool and settle there.

Naruto crawls to him. On his hands and knees, stalks him. Itachi's legs are spread wide. One hand on his cock, lazy. Three fingers stretched inside him, thorough. Naruto's face hovers above those hands. Watches Itachi's fingers. Fascinated. Wants. Wants. Naruto sucks three of his own fingers, pulls out Itachi's and replaces them with his own. Itachi clenches and flutters around his fingers and Naruto groans. Moves his fingers in earnest. Itachi arches and pushes back. Naruto wants. And wants. He feels Itachi's feet braced on his hips and he is propelled backwards to the ground. Itachi hovers over him, knees on either side of Naruto's body. Menacing. He sinks down onto Naruto's cock. Naruto's groan is guttural. This is not Sasuke, and he is not 14.

Itachi rides him. Deeper. Harder. Always more. Naruto watches the exertion of his arms, his thighs, his stomach. Naruto touches him everywhere. This is Itachi and he is a man. Naruto rears up and kisses Itachi. Dangerous, like hunting. Like after the hunt. Ripping into the flesh of the prey with teeth. Naruto holds Itachi, flips them over. Naruto on his knees and Itachi on his back, his legs wrapped around Naruto's waist. Naruto thrusts into him and Itachi's body convulses.

"I want to hear you," Naruto growls.

"I'm quiet by nature," Itachi. Panting.

"I want to hear you."

"I never make much noise during sex," Itachi. Still panting.

"I want you to beg me."

Itachi laughs at that. Naruto smirks, all devious intention. His hands clamp down on Itachi's hips and he holds the both of them still. Naruto begins again. Slowly. Deeper. Itachi groans. Naruto snakes an arm around Itachi's lower back, places a hand on his lower abdomen. Deeper still.

"Fuck," Itachi strangled-groans.

Naruto holds Itachi in a vice grip. Fucks him slow and deep. Like turning the rack.

"Beg me."

Naruto holds the base of Itachi's cock. Fucks him harder. Deeper. Slowly.

"Please," Itachi strangled-groans.

"I want to hear you."

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Faster."

"What faster?"

"Fuck me. Faster. Please."

With a growl Naruto lifts Itachi off his back. Fucks him fast. The way Itachi wants. Itachi's fingers dig into the flesh of Naruto's back and rake red angry lash marks down his back. They are guttural groans, and skin slapping, and canine.

"I'm coming."

Itachi sounds like he's suffocating. He throws his head back and comes. Hard. His arms and legs crush and contract around Naruto like they are ingesting him. Naruto watches. He is in awe of Itachi's pleasure in moonlight.

Itachi's limbs begin to relax, he becomes boneless. His head leads him to the floor behind him. Naruto pulls out of him. Itachi spreads himself across the grass. Sweat, dirt, come and spit. All limbs in moonlight.

"You're beautiful."

Itachi doesn't open his eyes.

"That's because you think Sasuke looks like me."

"No. That's not it."

Naruto picks up a pebble, throws it at Itachi's chest. Itachi cracks open an eye, head slightly inclined towards Naruto.

"You didn't come."

"Never mind that."

"Why didn't you finish."

"I always thought it was rude, fucking someone when they have nothing else to gain."

"So you martyr yourself instead."

Naruto laughs.

"Why didn't you let me fuck you."

"You know all your questions are statements, right."

"That's not an answer."

"The spit thing. It weirds me out. Hurts, you know. I prefer a salve of some sort."

"Maybe you should carry some with you."

"We're on a mission, I'm not trying to fuck anyone."

"What about that girl with the pink hair."

"I'd hardly need the salve, would I."

Itachi closes his eyes again, everything cooling on his body and him not phased.

"Itachi?"

"Yes."

"You really are beautiful. Or pretty. Or sexy. Or something."

"Or something."

"You really are."

Itachi opens his eyes again, sits up slowly. Watches Naruto.

"Stand up," Itachi says.

"Why?"

Itachi watches him. Naruto stands.

"Come here," Itachi says.

Naruto stands in front of him. Itachi kneels, faces Naruto's cock, still hard.

"Fuck my mouth."

Itachi's mouth opens around Naruto's cock. Naruto groans, grabs Itachi's hair. Does as he's told.

He comes. Looking down at Itachi looking up at him with obsidian eyes. The feel of Itachi's hair in his hands makes him want to cry, or scream, or run. He comes and it is devastating. His back bends in a bow. His thighs shake. He slips, is collapsing. He slides to the floor cushioned by Itachi's hands, his limbs.

"You said my name when you came," Itachi says.

"Did I?"

"I thought you might say Sasuke's."

"Did you?"

Naruto opens his eyes and turns to look at Itachi. Itachi is on his back, one leg up. Naruto is on his stomach, arms pillowing his head. They are watching each other.

"You know," Naruto says, "I could choose you and be happy."

They are watching each other. Above them midnight clears and blue skies filter back in. And the sun for the moon. The ravens have been circling all night.

"In the world next to ours," says Itachi, "you do. We walk away together and we are happy. In that world, we love each other more than we love Sasuke and we are happy." There is a pause, and then, "In the one next to that, Sasuke chooses you; in another one I never left. All of these things happen. There is another me and you and Sasuke conscious of what we, here, are not conscious of, dreaming of what we are living. Everything is written."

Naruto touches Itachi. Traces a finger down the scars on his face. Touches his mouth. Remembers what he taste like, feels like.

"Sasuke doesn't deserve me," Naruto says.

"Sasuke deserves everything," Itachi says.

"Fuck. I know."

Naruto leans his face to smell Itachi's neck, behind his ears. Naruto is wrecked. Sasuke has wrecked him.

Itachi reaches out to his clothes and his hand comes back with a kunai in hand. Naruto tenses. Wondering. Itachi looks at him and smiles a little, teasing him. Smiles just by the minutest lifting of the corners of his mouth. He takes Naruto's hand, kisses his palm near his wrist.

"This is real, Naruto. Outside of Sasuke. This happened and it is real."

Itachi cuts an 'X' into Naruto's palm near his wrist. Blood collects at the surface. Naruto pulls his hand away and jerks up into a sitting position, his palm in his mouth.

"Fuck, Itachi. That fucking hurt."

Itachi smiles that smile again. Which is no smile at all maybe. He lifts up one hand from his position on the floor and beckons Naruto towards him. Naruto leans closer. Cautious. Hesitant. Itachi taps two fingers in the middle of Naruto's forehead. Their eyes meet, and Itachi's glow the blood red of Sharingan.

"Find Sasuke. Break all his bones if you must."

x

Naruto stumbles in the clearing disorientated. He looks back. Sees his team behind him.

"What is it? You find something?" Kiba asks.

"What?"

"Why'd you stop, Naruto? I can still smell Uchiha's scent in this direction."

Akamaru barks in acquiescence.

"Sasuke..."

"Yeah, Naruto, Sasuke."

The team is gathered around Naruto. Worry lines and creased brows of confusion. One second in real time, Naruto thinks. His emotions come rushing back. The familiar sound. The familiar flood.

"Yeah. Let's go find Sasuke. I think I just got confused with his scent. I'm no tracking dog like you and Akamaru. You guys should go in the front, I think. I'll go to the back and fan my shadow clones across the woods." His words are a barrage of forced enthusiasm. "I'll bring him back."

The team glances at Kakashi. Kakashi nods for them to go on. Naruto drops to the back, turns to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, if gen jutsu is just chakra manipulations and sensory illusions, if something happens inside a gen jutsu, is it still real?"

Kakashi notices Naruto obsessively rub the corner of his palm near his wrist. His fingers come away with crusts of dried blood.

"Yes. It speaks to the relative nature of things. Your mind experiences it in a vessel that is like your body even though it is not your body. It is still a physical experience. It is not like a dream that never happened. It happened and it is real. It just occupied a different space time relationship. And in that space and time, it is possibly still happening. Just like something else is at this moment happening in another space and another time."

"Well, I don't know if I understand all that. But okay. If you say it's real, it's real."

"Why? What's all this about? Is there something you need to tell me, Naruto?"

"No. It's just about Sasuke. There is a space and time where I will find him, and he will come back to the village, and we will be Team 7 again."

Naruto is unusually introspective. He looks up and there are no ravens. He thinks a storm might be coming. He rubs the 'X' on his palm near his wrist and wants to cry, or scream, or run. But it is too late for any of that. He is wrecked. They have wrecked him and it is devastating.

x

Months later he faces Sasuke. Again. For the third time. He rubs the 'X' on his palm and wants to cry, or scream, or run. It is a clear day, blue skies. Naruto thinks of the waste of beautiful days. He wonders what Sasuke tastes like now. And then Sasuke is a swirl of firestyle and Naruto thinks he must taste like ash. Emotion rushes in him as it always does. He thinks he sees a raven in his periphery.


End file.
